Peter Scriven
Encyclopedia
Peter Scriven MBE
(1930 – 1998) was the founding Artistic Director
of the Marionette Theatre of Australia.
as a serious artform in Australia
.
His Tintookies and Little Fella Bindi toured all over Australasia. The Tintookies, from an Aboriginal word meaning 'little people who come from the sandhills', was an elaborate marionette musical first staged by creator Peter Scriven at the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney in 1956. After the success of this production, Tintookie by became the generic name for any of the puppets used by the Marionette Theatre of Australia, formed by Scriven under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1965. The board was chaired by Sir Howard Beale, president of the Arts Council, and included Dr H.C. Coombs, Dorothy Helmrich and Scriven, who was also artistic director. Apart from commissioning and presenting original Australian puppet works, the Marionette Theatre of Australia was to establish a training school, encourage the development of other groups, and import overseas companies.
The Marionette Theatre of Australia produced innovative large-scale puppet shows with an overtly Australian content for children for more than 20 years, including the landmark productions 'LittleFella Bindi' (1958) and Norman Lindsay's 'The Magic Pudding' (1960). Bindi, the aboriginal boy lead in LittleFella Bindi was manipulated by Scriven. He was supported by a team of five young puppeteers supervised by Igor Hyczka, a stage manager, a sound technician and a tour manager, Tony Gould (later to head the Queensland Performing Arts Centre
). Later productions included The Explorers (telling the story of Australian explorers, Burke and Wills) and The Water Babies. A film version of The Explorers was produced in 1968 by Scriven for Film World Pty. Ltd.
Scriven was highly dedicated even as a boy to marionettes. According to his teacher, William Dalziel Nicol, Scriven was one of the first students examined in puppetry after a course conducted by the Education Department in 1943 in Victoria, Australia.
Scriven was a remarkable entrepeneuer and used his own funds to establish his marionette company. His legacy lives on the marionettes of the Marionette Theatre Company which a central part of the archives of the National Institute of Dramatic Art
in Sydney
, Australia.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(1930 – 1998) was the founding Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the Marionette Theatre of Australia.
Background and Legacy
Scriven played a huge role in establishing puppetryPuppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
as a serious artform in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
His Tintookies and Little Fella Bindi toured all over Australasia. The Tintookies, from an Aboriginal word meaning 'little people who come from the sandhills', was an elaborate marionette musical first staged by creator Peter Scriven at the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney in 1956. After the success of this production, Tintookie by became the generic name for any of the puppets used by the Marionette Theatre of Australia, formed by Scriven under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1965. The board was chaired by Sir Howard Beale, president of the Arts Council, and included Dr H.C. Coombs, Dorothy Helmrich and Scriven, who was also artistic director. Apart from commissioning and presenting original Australian puppet works, the Marionette Theatre of Australia was to establish a training school, encourage the development of other groups, and import overseas companies.
The Marionette Theatre of Australia produced innovative large-scale puppet shows with an overtly Australian content for children for more than 20 years, including the landmark productions 'LittleFella Bindi' (1958) and Norman Lindsay's 'The Magic Pudding' (1960). Bindi, the aboriginal boy lead in LittleFella Bindi was manipulated by Scriven. He was supported by a team of five young puppeteers supervised by Igor Hyczka, a stage manager, a sound technician and a tour manager, Tony Gould (later to head the Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct....
). Later productions included The Explorers (telling the story of Australian explorers, Burke and Wills) and The Water Babies. A film version of The Explorers was produced in 1968 by Scriven for Film World Pty. Ltd.
Scriven was highly dedicated even as a boy to marionettes. According to his teacher, William Dalziel Nicol, Scriven was one of the first students examined in puppetry after a course conducted by the Education Department in 1943 in Victoria, Australia.
Scriven was a remarkable entrepeneuer and used his own funds to establish his marionette company. His legacy lives on the marionettes of the Marionette Theatre Company which a central part of the archives of the National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia.
External links
- Peter Scriven and the Sydney Powerhouse Museum collection
- Peter Scriven Tintookies marionettes in the collection of the State Library of Victoria and the National Archives, Australia
- Marionette Theatre of Australia Puppet Collection (Peter Scriven) - National Institute of Dramatic Arts Archive
- Peter Scriven biography